Not one of the denials turned out to be true, according to investigations by the Federal Communications Commission, more than three dozen state attorneys general and law enforcement authorities in several other countries.

After hearing Google spout such a pack of fairy tales, no one should need a complex algorithm to figure out that the Web information giant should have zero credibility when it claims it respects people's privacy.

Yet, after settling with 38 states and the District of Columbia, Google's punishment is a mere $7 million fine and a promise to reform and police itself.

If Google tried to deny taking information it clearly took, how can it be trusted not to let that happen again?

As disappointing as the settlement was, at least New Jersey was among the states that tried to stand up for its citizens by enforcing consumer protection laws. Pennsylvania wasn't even part of the litigation to protect people's personal information.

The FCC determined that the rogue engineer whom Google blamed for scooping up people's personal data was actually working with others and had reported what happened to his supervisors. But the commission concluded that the engineer had been poorly supervised and fined Google only $25,000 for obstructing an FCC investigation.